ATLANTA -- The text to Trey Burke came direct from Michigan's Fab Five glory days. Jalen Rose, to be precise.

It reminded Burke that he had gone to Ann Arbor with Monday night in mind, and now it was time. "Get it done," it read. And at the end, "Hail." As in, to the victors. You've heard the fight song. Only this time, if the Wolverines are victors, they get to cut down the nets.

"One of our words," Burke was saying Sunday. "That means so much to the whole team."

It is in Burke's hands now. His and his teammates. They know what Monday night means against Louisville, and the chance to carve their own initials into the rather peculiar history of Michigan basketball.

It will hardly be easy. Burke comes off a seven-point shooting game where the basket seemed to shrink to the width of a saucer, though he did have the four assists against Syracuse, the three steals, the one turnover in 38 minutes. "What you have to understand," coach John Beilein said, "it's more than just that box score."

And now the Louisville championship-seeking pressure is aimed at Burke. All 6-foot of him. "It will come down to a battle of will," he said.

It could also be history. Michigan does not own a garden variety past. This is the program whose most glamorous era – the Fab Five -- has been officially eradicated because of money that Chris Webber took (not the sixth timeout he called). The national runner-up banners are now are stored in the school library.

This is the program whose only national championship was won with an interim coach. Steve Fisher replaced Bill Frieder just before the 1989 tournament because athletic director Bo Schembechler was irate that Frieder had accepted a job at Arizona State. His famous retort was that a Michigan team would be coached "by a Michigan man."

Frieder had to watch his players win the national championship from a hotel suite. He is here this weekend calling the game for radio, overjoyed to see the Wolverines finally back.

"I left because a football coach was AD, and Steve Fisher was fired by a (former) football player," Frieder said Sunday. "Back then, they had the mentality that both basketball and football couldn't be good. Now, they've got that mentality they can both be good.

"I was honest about what was going to happen and I was penalized for being honest. But I was never bitter. I always supported Michigan. I went to Michigan. Despite what you heard and read, I was a Michigan man with two degrees."

Michigan Wolverines forward Glenn Robinson III, left, celebrates with forward Jon Horford after defeating the Syracuse Orange in the the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland dunks over Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland react in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas shoots between Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. and forward Mitch McGary in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Glenn Robinson III dunks over Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas dunks over Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary shoots over Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary blocks the shot of Syracuse Orange forward James Southerland in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary shoots over Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange forward C.J. Fair passes the ball away from Michigan Wolverines guard Trey Burke and guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange guard Brandon Triche shoots against Michigan Wolverines guard Tim Hardaway Jr. in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Syracuse Orange forward Rakeem Christmas goes up for the opening tip against Michigan Wolverines forward Mitch McGary in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith lays the ball up past the defense of Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker in the second half during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard Peyton Siva shoots against Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard/forward Luke Hancock, right, celebrates with guard Tim Henderson after making a three-point shot against the Wichita State Shockers in the second half during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard/forward Luke Hancock and Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall go for a rebound in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Wichita State Shockers center Ehimen Orukpe shoots against Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard Kevin Ware watches from the bench in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four against the Wichita State Shockers at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith lays the ball up past Wichita State Shockers forward Carl Hall in the second half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Wichita State Shockers guard Malcolm Armstead shoots against Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker is chased by Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith and guard/forward Luke Hancock in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals forward Montrezl Harrell shoots between Wichita State Shockers guard Ron Baker and center Ehimen Orukpe in the first half of the semifinals during the 2013 Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard Peyton Siva drives to the basket against Wichita State Shockers center Ehimen Orukpe in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports

Wichita State Shockers guard Malcolm Armstead drives to the basket against Louisville Cardinals center Gorgui Dieng in the first half of the semifinals during the Final Four at the Georgia Dome.
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Louisville Cardinals guard Russ Smith attempts to steal the ball from Wichita State Shockers guard Fred VanVleet in the first half of the semifinals at the Georgia Dome.
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This is a program whose top player, Burke, was decidedly below the blue chip line on recruiting lists in high school, but ended up national player of the year.

Whose coach has spent 35 years on a road tour through nearly every level of college basketball. When Rick Pitino went to his first Final Four at Providence, Beilein was coaching Le Moyne College.

He was still Le Moyne's coach in 1989, and in the stands in Seattle when Michigan played in the Final Four. All he remembers is telling his wife how much he liked "Hail to the Victors." Now he hears it a lot.

"I hope I'm holding some type of flag right now for all those Division II, Division III, NAIA, junior college coaches," he said, "knowing that they could be here too right now if they had the same breaks I had."

The current Wolverines all know the Michigan past. Sort of. Burke was asked if he could name the starters from the national champions, and he came up with two; Glen Rice and Rumeal Robinson. Nobody else in the current lineup could do better than that.

But Burke understands what a championship would signify to Michigan, and why the echoes of the Fab Five are so loud at the moment. They, too, got this far. Only, they lost. Twice.

These Wolverines can take one very, very big step higher.

"That's a strong and bold statement," he said. "So I don't think we should really look at that way, because that's a lot of pressure."

Still, he added, "that's has been our goal since day 1." And he mentioned how, when he said last year he was returning to Ann Arbor as a sophomore to chase a championship, "a lot of people looked at me like I was crazy."

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It has been 20 years since the Fab 5, the team that changed college basketball, were all on the court together. In honor of Michigan making the Final Four for the first time since that classic team, USA TODAY Sports takes a look at where the members of the Fab 5 are now.
Patricia Beck, AP

Ray Jackson (No. 21): The least heralded member of the Fab Five, Jackson never played in the NBA. He did, however, win the 1995–96 CBA Rookie of the Year Award while playing for the Grand Rapids Hoops. He currently lives in Austin and runs a not-for-profit organization called Rise Up Inc that helps kids in school and on the court.
AP

Jimmy King (No. 24): A four-year starter during his time at Michigan, King was selected by the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the 1995 NBA draft. Heplayed just 2 years in the NBA. After basketball he worked as a financial adviser for Merrill Lynch and is currently the Vice President of Business Development at Schechter Wealth Strategies in Michigan.
Timothy Fitzgerald, AP

Juwan Howard (No. 25): Regarded as one of the elite big men in college hoops, Chicago native Juwan Howard chose to forgo senior year, and was selected fifth overall by the Washington Bullets in 1994. Over his 19-year NBA career, he averaged 13.4 ppg and 6.2 rpg. On March 3, at age 40, Howard signed a 10-day contract with the Miami Heat, his third season with the club.
Porter Binks, USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Rose (No. 5): At point
guard for the Wolverines, Jalen Rose was the leading scorer. He was drafted 13th
overall by the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 14.3 ppg in his 13-year career. He
now works as an analyst for ESPN’s College GameDay and NBA Countdown. He also
appears on ESPN’s Numbers Never Lie.
Duane Burleson Getty Images

Chris Webber (No. 4): Michigan's prized No. 1 recruit in the country, Chris Webber left after his sophomore season and was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic in 1993. He was immediately traded to the Golden State Warriors, which began his 15-year NBA career. His No. 4 is retired by the Sacramento Kings, where he played seven seasons. His post-NBA exploits include basketball analyst TV spots with Turner Sports, as well as his foundation work.
Susan Ragan, AP

Members of the Fab 5 (from left), Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Jalen Rose take in the title game. Chris Webber was also in the arena and tweeted a picture of himself wearing a Michigan hat.
Richard Mackson, USA TODAY Sports